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History · Waterville Valley

Waterville Valley dates to 1829

Most of Waterville Valley was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1986 on and the census since 1830.

1829founded
0on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Waterville Valley began

When was Waterville Valley founded?

1829

Waterville Valley dates its founding to 1829 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 96 in 18302020 census: 508197 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1889.The full story ↓

What stands out about Waterville Valley’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Waterville Valley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1830 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.Deep rootsEstablished in 1829: 197 years of Waterville Valley.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waterville Valley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waterville Valley’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Waterville Valley, census by census

0100200300400500185019001950200096 in 1830Low: 11

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1830 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Waterville Valley’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Waterville Valley, 1829 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1829
    FoundingWaterville Valley is established
  3. 1889Post officeThe Waterville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1922Post officeThe Waterville post office closes
  6. 1922Post officeThe Waterville Valley post office opens
  7. 1935Post officeThe Waterville Valley post office closes
  8. 1986On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 508
The story

How Waterville Valley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waterville Valley.

Read it all →

The area was first settled in the 1760s, and incorporated as "Waterville" in 1829. The name "Waterville Valley" was adopted in 1967.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Waterville Valley, decade by decade

Today17 recent
Timkelleywaterville2015TimkelleywatervilleSabbaday Brook2015Sabbaday BrookFall Water2015Fall WaterShell Cascade top view2014Shell Cascade top viewShell Cascade close-up2014Shell Cascade close-upShell Cascade2014Shell CascadeWest Branch Mad River, West Branch Rd, Waterville Valley (494188)2013West Branch Mad River, West Branch Rd, Waterville Val…Village Rd, Waterville Valley (494186)2013Village Rd, Waterville Valley (494186)Village Rd, Waterville Valley (494165)2013Village Rd, Waterville Valley (494165)The Valley Inn, Tecumseh Rd, Waterville Valley (493930)2013The Valley Inn, Tecumseh Rd, Waterville Valley (49393…The Valley Inn, Tecumseh Rd, Waterville Valley (493918)2013The Valley Inn, Tecumseh Rd, Waterville Valley (49391…The Valley Inn, Tecumseh Rd, Waterville Valley (493917)2013The Valley Inn, Tecumseh Rd, Waterville Valley (49391…Tecumseh Rd, Waterville Valley (493916)2013Tecumseh Rd, Waterville Valley (493916)Snows Brook, Nr Village Rd, Waterville Valley (494173)2013Snows Brook, Nr Village Rd, Waterville Valley (494173)Nr Hwy 49, Waterville Valley (493945)2013Nr Hwy 49, Waterville Valley (493945)Nr Hwy 49, Waterville Valley (493944)2013Nr Hwy 49, Waterville Valley (493944)Hwy 49, Waterville Valley (493915)2013Hwy 49, Waterville Valley (493915)
On the map

Waterville Valley on the map in 1986

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Waterville Valley.

Waterville Valley on the 1986 USGS map1986Lake Winnipesaukee sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Waterville Valley.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Waterville Valley had its own post office from 1922 to 1935. Another post office, Waterville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Waterville
1889–1922
Waterville Valley
1922–1935
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Sandwich8 historic placesA+Albany1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townThorntonIts storyB−

Questions about Waterville Valley’s history

What year was Waterville Valley founded?

In 1829, according to Wikidata. Waterville Valley’s post office opened in 1889, and the census of 1830 counted 96 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (17), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.